NATASHA

I often find that when I am writing out a word that it looks incorrect and I also write it out in a few ways before I get the right answer. I sometimes do not have the time to do this so I use a spellcheck or dictionary to see whether I was correct or wrong and often, I am correct or wrong!

My first book was Shakespeare because I wanted to become an actress and I was obsessed with theater reading. I enjoyed it and continued on to read Nancy Drew and anything by Wilbur Smith. I love the classic books like Scott Fitzgerald novels and also I read a lovely book called the "gift" I cant rememberthe author but it was fantastic.

Another great one was "Lovely Bones" true story and very heart wrenching.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lord of the Flies and there are so many books that you can read. All the classics are fantastic and Lord of the Rings is a great book to read too.

If you wnjoy fantasy books than anything by tolken, Jordan or Martin are good books to read. Hobbit, Lord of the Rings etc.

If you like classic stories which I highly recommend then you need to find books by J.D Salinger, Oscar Wilde, Scott Fitzgerald and a good one too; Stieg Larson the"girl with the dragon tatoo."

I think that there is nothing better than knowing how to speak in many languages and with little children it is easy to teach as they learn wuicker than adults do.

It would be fantastic if your child could learn both your languages so that both heritages are kept together. Perhaps teach one now and wait a year or two then teach the other one.

I absolutely can't take texting. I find that children today are lazy with their grammar and English because of the text and short messaging.

Words that were once meaningful are now altered to suit the slang for cellphones and if kids are not reading then the grammar will definitely go.

I dont really enjoy texting I would rather visit someone but when I do text I make it short and sweet but with full English words. I have used lol once or twice, shame on me!

This is a good idea and there are so many good ones. I like the first one by Benjamin Franklin.

There are so many quotes and sayings and a lot of them, well almost all of them make such absolute sense and give clarity in situations.

I often go to a coffee shop and grab a sachet of sugar which always has a meaning on it. The message it gives is not always directed towards my day but it often is and makes sense for that moment.

I forgot about lyrics.com becasue this is a good way to learn language too. You can listen to the song and then read the words while you sing a long. It helps with the learning and you get to understand what they are saying quickly.

Thank you for this and I will definitely try it as it will come in handy. It is amazing just how much you can achieve online!

Buon pomerrigio

Dove abiti?

Che e la tu Nazionalita?

I personally feel that language lessons are best done through a person that can stop if you dont understand and move on if you are progressing. I have not tried the Rosetta but I did go for language lessons at a college and found that so much more useful.

I tried to do some of the lessons via youtube but it is frustrating when you need to ask questions about tenses or certain words that cnnot be explained by anything other than a teacher.

Hello and welcome! It is good to look around here and you will find many interesting things to talk about and discussions to join into. Happy lingo learning!

I signed up with Elance and there are a great number of translator jobs but also many people that submit for these. It is worth a try and you do get paid for it, as long as you do not translate via internet, you have got to know the language well.

I would love to be able to speak as many languages as possible. Wouldnt it be great to be able to communicate with anyone that you meet from other countries?

It is easier to learn languages once you know one or two and it is harder to stop learning when you can get response from people after you have been told that you speak their language well.

My favourite accent is Italian and I love the American accent and find myself drawn in when someone speaks with it. I also think that with Italian it sounds so exotic and full of expression that you cant help but listen to what is being said.

Yes I have learned Zulu and unfortunately as I was not able to speak it often I lost almost all of it. I can say hello and greet people, ask where they live but infortunately never will be able to hold a full conversation. I would like to learn it again so that I can communicate with others.

I think that it is just about having confidence and not being afraid to speak up and spit it out. The Europeans are very expressive and rolling the r's is easy once you have tried it a few times. Keep your tongue almost against your pallet when trying to roll the r's.

You are absolutely right! I think in every language it should be lived and spoken the with the energy of the native speakers. Italians talk with their hands and use emotional expressions to accentuate words, which I know Spanish do the same. Live the language that you want to speak

I actually find that it is easiest to learn through the native speakers as you pick up the language a lot quicker than you would if you studied it. However, some of the locals speak in different tenses to others and it could make you learn it in lazy form rather than in the correct form of their language.

Reading definitely gives you a wider vocabulary and if you do get an app for big words then you will need to know where to use them. Maybe for a quick way to learn a word in conversation to impress, you can get the thesaurus online and type in the word asking for the synonym.

I think it is great to learn a language with basic information as children learn. It helps when you are starting so that you can understand completely before you go onto an intermediate level of communication.

I have not heard of this but will take a look if there are different language choices.

Thank you for the tip

Thanks for the greetings! I hope to learn something and look forward to chatting to other people who are also learning and teaching.

That is interesting! I only know of them in English and have never really thought about it being in other languages.

In English you leave someone to sink or swim and in Italian you say you leave them to drink or drown (o bere o affogare)

I suppose in every language it is different to the English and it would be interesting to see if anyone else knows a few more.

I think it is nice to learn a few words so that you can get around the country with ease. Learn greetings, how to ask for directions and where to eat or to say that you are lost. It makes a world of difference when you travel because although people speak English it is often time consuming finding someone to help you.

An extremely difficult language to learn! I would love to be able to speak it and I did send away for a Chinese language course but have not been able to get stuck into it. I think the best way to learn this language is to go to the country and learn from the people who live there.

I find unless I am buying a book from an author I regularly read, I always look at the synopsis before as this will be the reason for me to either ditch the book or take it. It is important for me to read this first because I really dislike getting a book and then deciding half way through that I am not enjoying it. I have to read the entire book and finish what I started so summaries are of the utmost importance.